The scribes and Pharisees were opposed to Jesus and His teaching. Jesus accused them of hypocrisy: 'Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you close the kingdom of heaven against mankind: for you neither go in yourselves, neither do you allow those entering to have entered’ Mat 23:13. He also exposed the inadequacy of …
Category: Bible Exegesis
Correcting the miscalling of Demas
It is time to rehabilitate Demas, the companion of the apostle Paul, from the slander than judges him a turncoat or even worse an apostate. The King James Version translates 2Tim 4:10: 'For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia' 2Tim 4:10 …
Revisiting the 1967 Abortion Act
The 50th anniversary of the 1967 Abortion Act made the BBC revisit the debate about abortion in The Moral Maze. Confusion, obfuscation and biblical illiteracy are still the order of the day. The debate proceeded along the usual lines to little effect, so it is worth recording here a list of the topics which are …
Those who have no hope
There are many people living hopeless lives, and some go to the extreme of committing suicide. Dante's poem imagines the supposed inscription at the entrance to hell: "Abandon every hope, you who enter in." It is amazing that those on earth with no hope would hasten their way towards that place with no hope. However, …
Academic exegesis
Academic exegesis is that form of interpretation which copies academics or authority figures. The Lord Jesus Christ cut through this in His teaching. Academic exegesis is seen in the translation of several biblical passages. Bible versions are the product of teams of academic translators pooling their collective knowledge to produce a final decision on the …
Do you honour Jesus Christ as Lord?
What sort of honour do you give to Jesus Christ, and to what extent? Many people know that He claims to be the Son of God, but this washes over many of them as if it is just another item of news. Rather, it is so significant that it cannot be ignored and deserves to …
The majority of mankind will be saved
The majority of mankind will be saved – will you be among them? It is not uncommon to hear the depressing and unbiblical doctrine that only a minority of the human family will arrive in heaven. It is also common to hear the ungodly say that they do not want to go to heaven, which …
Patrick’s Places – the difference between Law and Gospel
Patrick’s Places – the difference between Law and Gospel by Patrick Hamilton, 1527. Patrick Hamilton was Scotland’s first Reformer and martyr, burned at the stake by Roman Catholic cardinal Beaton at St Andrews in 1528 for preaching the Gospel. Of noble birth, he graduated MA from the College of Montaigu, Paris, in 1520 and enrolled …
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Sermon on Acts 13:26
The Free Offer of the Gospel ‘Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you fears God, to you is the word of this salvation sent’ Act 13:26. God's salvation is sent to you. The Holy Spirit sends the Gospel to all who hear it and offers salvation freely to them. …
Mistakes in exegesis and eisegesis
There are many mistakes in exegesis. One of the commonest is to substitute eisegesis for exegesis. One's opinion is not exegesis. Exactly what constitutes eisegesis remains a source of debate among theologians, but most scholars agree about the importance of determining the intention of the original penman as a basis for exegesis. One of the …
